Can you Stop the Purple Rain?
by Greendogg
Summary: What happens when a legendary musician from Minnesota arrives in town?
1. Author notes

**Hey folks, this is my first story of 2017! I'm trying to stay hopeful about this year and make the best of it. Anyway…this story is in memory of my cousin who I lost last April. 10 months later, I still miss him, though getting touch with his friends and other family members has helped.  
**.

Anyway... thank you for the reviews and adding my stories to your favorites or alert list.

Your patience is greatly appreciated so thanks for waiting and taking a moment to read this note!

Chapter one of this story will be posted soon!


	2. Any Given Friday

**Hey folks, decided to write a new short story. Anyway…I wrote this in memory of my cousin. Even almost a year later, I still miss him, though getting touch with his friends and other family members has helped.**

All characters are the property of Hasbro. The songs, Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, etc… are the property of Prince and Paisley Park Studios. This is a short for my Transformers canine series. Anyway…here's the story.

 **Friday, February 4** **th** **\- 8:30am-Eastern Time...**

Cody sighed as he waited in the drive way for his best friend Frankie to show up. It was early February and snow was still on rooftops, in the trees and just about everything else that was outdoors. Aside from the snow and slight chill, it was a rather sunny day. Boulder was passing through the garage when he spotted Cody.

"You're still out here?" Boulder asked.

Cody sighed and turned to look at him.

"Yeah,"

Boulder raised an eyebrow at this. The Bernese Mountain Dog was somewhat surprised. On most days Cody wouldn't turn down a free ride, but this time was different.

"Graham and I are heading to the hardware store, you sure you don't need a lift to school?"

"Nah, thanks for the offer but I'll give her another ten minutes." Said Cody.

Just then, the two of then heard the sound of a bicycle bell ringing.

"Don't think you'll need to," Boulder said.

Sure enough, there was Frankie who came up on her bike. She stopped and removed her helmet.

"Hey guys…sorry I'm late," she apologized.

"What took you?" Boulder asked.

"Just busy with getting things ready for my cousin, he's coming to visit this week." Frankie explained.

"He picked a good time to come here, the town's holding the annual Cultural Exchange Festival." Cody pointed out.

"Yeah...anyway, we better get to school…" said Frankie.

Cody nodded and put on his helmet before getting on his bike.

Frankie rubbed Boulder behind his soft floppy black ears.

"See you after school, Boulder."

And with that, the two of them were gone. Boulder smiled as he watched the two humans headed off to school. His ears perked up at hearing Graham whistle for him. Turning away, Boulder went back into the garage. A few minutes later, Frankie and Cody reached the school. They parked their bikes outside and walked in.

"So, what's your cousin like, Frankie? I didn't know you had relatives on the mainland." Said Cody.

"Well, my cousin doesn't visit Maine that much…he lives in Minnesota but he's traveled all over the world." Frankie explained.

"He sounds really cool." Cody said with a smile.

Frankie grinned sheepishly as they entered their classroom.

"You could say that."

The two of them hung up their coats and scarves before they sat down at their desks.

"Good morning class," The teacher, Mr. Schulte said in his usual dull tone.

"Good morning, Mr. Schulte," the students replied.

"As you all know the annual Cultural Exchange festival kicks off this weekend, however, Mr. Alper and Haley have dropped by to take suggestions for some of the themes and topics for this year's event." Mr. Schulte explained.

"The goal this year is to make the festival as diverse and interesting as possible. Our town as well as the rest of America is made up of people from all over the world." Said Haley.

"You are all more than welcome to offer up suggestions." said Mr. Alper.

It wasn't long before several students raised their hands, Frankie went first.

"Yes?" Mr. Alper asked.

"How about a Black history workshop? The library has several books and records." Frankie suggested.

"I think that's a great idea," said Mr. Alper.

"So do I," Haley agreed.

One by one, the students offered suggested and Mr. Alper took notes on a clipboard.

"Ok, I think that'll do it. Thanks for the suggestions, Kids." He said after a while.

"See you at the festival," Haley said before she and Mr. Alper left.

Shortly after, class started and Cody and Frankie began to work on their assignments. The two were unaware that Priscilla Pynch who was sitting behind them watched them.

Sometime later at lunch, Cody and Frankie sat on the swings in the schoolyard, talking. Their classmates were either eating lunch, talking or playing in the snow. It was overall, a pleasant winter afternoon.

"That Black history workshop was a great idea, Frankie." Said Cody.

"Thanks, so was yours. I had no idea your Uncle Woodrow met other emergency response teams." Frankie replied.

"Yeah, on one of his trips he sent back photos of different firehouses he saw in Johannesburg, Tokyo, London and…" Cody was interrupted when Priscilla walked over. The three of them weren't exactly friends. Although Priscilla's family could afford to send her to a private academy across town, her mother insisted she attend public school. She was currently wearing her designer winter jacket. It was indigo in color and trimmed with white chinchilla fur. Even in the cold, she was still a major show off.

"Oh, Hi Priscilla…how's it going?" he asked.

"Fine, I guess." Priscilla replied in a sarcastic tone.

Frankie frowned.

"You sure?" she asked.

"Well since you want to know, I have one question…why did you suggest a Black History workshop? We're already learning about it in school." Said Priscilla.

"Yeah, but there's more to it than Rosa Parks and George Washington Carver." Frankie pointed out.

"Name one," Priscilla replied.

"Katherine Johnson, she figured out the trajectory that helped launch John Glenn into space."

"I didn't even know that." Cody admitted.

"Not a lot of people do, my Dad and Professor Baranova met her once." Said Frankie.

"That's so cool!" Cody exclaimed.

Priscilla seemed unconvinced.

"Ok, who else?"

"Well…I don't like to brag, but there's my cousin." Said Frankie.

Priscilla raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's a famous musician." Frankie replied.

"Like who?" Priscilla asked.

Frankie half smiled, seeing it as an opportunity to basically break Priscilla's face.

"Guess,"

"Stevie Wonder?" Priscilla asked.

"Nope, not even close." Frankie answered.

Priscilla was somewhat puzzled, which musician could Frankie's cousin be?

"Lionel Riche?" she continued.

"Bigger than that." Frankie replied.

"Ok, can you give me a hint?" Priscilla asked, having had enough.

"Ever heard of a song called Purple Rain?" Frankie continued.

Priscilla's eyes widened.

"Purple what?"

"Never mind," Frankie sighed.

"Priscilla, you never shared much about your family history...what did they do?" Cody asked.

Priscilla froze, feeling uncertain.

"It's nothing…" she said.

"You can tell us." Frankie assured her.

"It's really nothing, my great grandparents grew sugar cane in Louisiana and ran a general store. They were in the trading business. No big deal." Priscilla replied.

"Oh," was all Cody could say.

"See you later,"

And with that, she walked off. Cody frowned and looked at Frankie.

"Wonder why she was afraid to tell us?" he asked.

Frankie hesitated at first but spoke.

"Uh Cody I think it's because if Priscilla's family grew sugar cane in the South hundreds of years ago then they probably had a plantation."

"Meaning?" Cody asked.

"Meaning they owned slaves, people like my ancestors." Frankie explained.

Cody's jaw dropped.

"That's awful."

Frankie sighed.

"Yeah…"

The bell rang and the students lined up to inside.

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it, I mean it could be worse." Cody pointed out, putting a hand on Frankie's right shoulder.

Just then, the voice of one of their classmates rang out.

"Guys, you gotta see this!" said Timmy.

"What is it, Timmy?" Frankie asked.

"No time to explain…" Timmy replied.

Cody and Frankie didn't need to be told twice and followed him.

The other students and some teachers including Haley had gathered in the hallway, talking amongst themselves. Priscilla however, was nowhere to be seen. When they finally caught up with Timmy, Cody and Frankie froze at the sight. A collage the students had made which featured Jackie Robinson, Ruby Dee and other famous Black people was completely destroyed! The pictures were either torn to pieces or scattered on the floor.

"What happened?!" Cody asked.

"I told you there was no time to explain." Timmy replied.

Frankie's mouth hung open, it was then she noticed an envelope taped to her locker.

"Someone left a note," she said.

"What does it say?" Haley asked.

Frankie took a moment to collect herself before reading the note.

"If you want your Black history workshop, go back to Africa."

The teachers and students gasped.

"Who would do this?" Corey, a red headed boy asked.

"Whoever it was, we'll find out." Haley assured the students.

She looked at the scattered pictures then at Frankie and the others.

"Me and the other teachers will talk to the Principal and do an investigation, in the meantime I suggest you all go back to your classrooms."

All the students agreed and with that, they left.

"Slow walk back to class?" Cody asked.

Frankie sighed and lowered her head.

"Yeah sure, I'm in no hurry."

The two of them walked down the hallway in silence. What had started out as a great day had gone downhill…or had it?

Meanwhile at the docks, Dani and Kade were there with Heatwave and Blades. They were waiting for the ferry to arrive which was running later than usual. Normally the docks were full of people but in the winter, it was pretty much deserted.

"I can't believe Dad had us come down here, it's 40 degrees for crying out loud!" Kade complained despite being dressed for the cold he was still shivering.

"Will you give it a rest already, Kade?" Dani asked, obviously annoyed by her brother.

Heatwave pulled his tail closer to his body, despite having fur; Dalmatians were a short haired breed. Blades on the other hand, was a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, whose longer double coat allowed him to withstand the cold.

"Why are we even out here, anyway?" Heatwave asked.

"Doc Greene had a conference call at the lab so he wanted us to be here to meet his cousin." Dani explained.

"Well, I hope he gets here soon…my paws are getting frostbite." Said Blades.

"Give it a few more minutes guys, Captain Shaw is doing the best he can, remember yesterday we had to clear a path because of all the sea ice?" Dani reminded them.

"Yeah…how could I forget?" Kade answered.

"I didn't, both of us nearly fell in the water." said Heatwave. He flinched slightly at the memory.

"Doc Greene said his cousin was coming here to visit. Do you know anything about him?" Blades asked.

Dani and Kade shrugged their shoulders.

"Not really." Said Kade.

Just then the four of them heard the sound of a ship's horn.

"Sounds like the ferry's here." Said Dani.

She and Kade quickly went closer with Heatwave and Blades walking beside them.

"Ok, so…which one is Doc's cousin?" Kade asked as he watched the passengers getting off the ferry.

"I don't know." Dani answered.

As the crowd started to wind down, Dani spotted a man around 5'2 with a golden-brown skin tone and short jet black hair. He was wearing a black turtle neck sweater with matching pants, royal purple winter vest, scarf and dark shoes. With him was a purple suitcase on wheels and a guitar case. He looked around and seemed lost. Dani blinked and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Wait a second…is that…Prince?!" 

**MORE TO COME…**

 **And that's part one…with all the hints, can anyone guess who Frankie's cousin might be or who destroyed the school's Black history college? If not, wait for the next chapter.**

 **The scene where the college was destroyed is from an episode of the 90s sitcom, Family Matters. Katherine Johnson is an actual person. For those who haven't heard of her, I suggest watching the movie Hidden Figures. I saw it back in February, it's a great film based on a true story!**

 **Anyway, chapter 2 will be up in a week or two. In the meantime, feel free to check out my other Transformers stories.**

 **Thanks for reading!**


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